Meghan Markle’s father Thomas told reporters that he had dramatically hung up on Prince Harry during a heated phone discussion about the press.

On Saturday night, the Duchess of Sussex’s father, 74, told the Mail on Sunday that he lied to the newlyweds over the phone about staging a series of photos for the paparazzi while he was in hospital recovering from a heart attack.

Although he described the timing of the phone call as “rude,” he admitted that Prince Harry was “absolutely” right to condemn him for his behavior.

Markle revealed that he made secret arrangements to take a series of staged photographs for the paparazzi, including ones of him being fitted with a suit ahead of the wedding. Markle admitted to then lying about the shots during a phone call with Prince Harry.

“If you had listened to me this would never have happened,” Markle recalls the prince saying over the phone, before he responded: “Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead… then you could pretend to be sad.”

“Then I hung up,” he said.

Reflecting on the conversation, Markle said that he was still hurt from when Meghan told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to speak at the wedding.

“I’m not mad at Harry. I’m not mad at Meghan. I love them. I wish them well. But as for the rest of it, f*** it. I’m done,” Markle added.

Markle told the tabloid newspaper that Prince Harry had warned him about the dangers of colluding with the press. He said he regrets not listening to his son-in-law. “Harry told me that I should never go to the press. That it would end in tears. He said, ‘They will eat you alive.’ He was right,” he told a reporter.

Markle made headlines in May when he abruptly pulled out of attending Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding following a slew of controversies over paparazzi photos. Markle blamed his heart attack for his non-attendance.

“People are quick to judge but they have no idea how much scrutiny we live under,” he said at the time. “Ever since Meg’s relationship with Harry was made public two years ago we have lived our once normal lives under the spotlight every second.”